Naruto the Great
by DarkSakui
Summary: What if Naruto woke up one day when he was younger and saw that the only way to stop people from hating him was to get strong and strove early on to reach that goal of strength? How would this affect the others? Read to find out.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the things affiliated with it.  
  
Naruto the Great:  
  
Summary: What if Naruto woke up one day when he was younger and saw that the only way to stop people from hating him was to get strong and strove early on to reach that goal of strength? How would this affect the others? Read to find out.  
  
Prologue:  
  
'Those stares, those hateful stares, I've known them all my life. They follow me everywhere I go. Well today I'm going to change that.' A tiny 5- year-old Naruto thought while he lay awake in his bed, after another horrible day of being cursed, insulted, and bullied. 'I see how they respect strength. They especially admire the strength of the Hokage, the most powerful of the shinobi of our village. I will gain that strength and with it the admiration of all the villagers.'  
  
'Tomorrow I will start on my way to changing those stares around. Tomorrow I become strong...'  
  
* * * * *  
  
In the morning he woke up and sat down to a breakfast of chicken ramen and old milk. 'I can't wait to 'come strong. Well I better get started.'  
  
Naruto stepped outside and only after the door slammed shut behind him did he realize something.  
  
"I ain't got no key!!!" Naruto shouted while turning with dread towards his door. "Hmm, I guess I could jump through the window, but I don't have enough money to pay for the cost. Well, no choice then. Off to the old man's place. He'll open the door for me. He has a key." Naruto didn't stop at all to wonder how or why the Hokage had a key to his apartment.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Naruto arrived at the door to the Hokage's office with a torn shirt, dirty shorts, and shredded sandals. Needless to say Naruto met a few villagers that preferred to demonstrate their hate rather than just whisper about it as he passed.  
  
"I'm here to see the old man. Let me in, you mask wearing freak." Naruto declared loudly to the Anbu outside the Hokage's door.  
  
"Lord Hokage doesn't have time for brat's especially not a demon spawn brat like yourself." The Anbu replied coolly.  
  
"Demon?"  
  
"That's enough right there." The Hokage spoke breaking the argument between the 2. "Naruto you wanted to see me?"  
  
"Yes, old man. But this baka here didn't want me to." He said pointing at the guard, "And he called me a demon spawn." Naruto finished bubbling over with tears.  
  
"Did he now?" The Hokage said with a quirk of his eyebrow towards the guard. "Well Naruto how about you go into my office. I'll be in there in just a sec."  
  
"Explain."  
  
"Sir, how can you stand being around that... that... thing." The guard said searching for a word. "You know that you're the only one who even can stand that demon."  
  
"That demon, as you call him, is a hero for our village." The third said calmly yet at the same time, almost angrily, "Would you rather the demon had been sealed in you or your child? I'll have you know that this demon of yours is far more innocent than ¾ of the villagers that hate him, including yourself."  
  
"I... I never that of it that way, sir." The Anbu mumbled quietly.  
  
"Yes, well that hardly makes it any better. As of now I have stripped you of your Anbu title and your Jounin level. Remember this and make certain to help others to do so as well." The third said almost as though speaking to a 3-year-old. "Now leave."  
  
"Yes sir." And the Anbu was gone in a wave of smoke.  
  
The third sighed and entered his office...  
  
Naruto was standing in front of the Hokage's desk looking a little lost. He didn't look back as the Hokage entered. In fact he didn't look up from the floor until the third had taken a seat at his desk.  
  
"Now Naruto what was you wanted to see me about?"  
  
"Um, well, I came here for 2 things actually. I came first to ask you why all the villagers call me a... a... a DEMON!!!"  
  
The third looked down and sighed trying best to put into words why the villagers feared and hated the boy without hurting him. He finally settled on just telling the truth, for the most part.  
  
"The villagers fear you for something beyond your control." He started. "But before I explain, do you know what the Kyubii is?"  
  
"Yes, he was a horrible demon that attacked our village 5 years ago."  
  
"Good, that saves some time. I assume then you heard that the Yondaime defeated the monster." The third inquired.  
  
"Yes, sir." Naruto responded, being polite for once.  
  
"Well then here is the truth. The Yondaime was incapable of fully defeating the monster so he was left with one last choice. To seal it in a newborn child." Hokage sighed then prepared to continue "He chose to seal the Kyuubi inside you. Now all the villagers see you not as human who has bravely taken on the task of managing the demon, but rather as the demon itself. Do you understand?'  
  
"I, guess so, sir,"  
  
"Good, and so you know the other kids don't about this, so it would be wise not to mention it." Then the third remembered that Naruto had come for another reason as well. "Now, please tell your other reason for coming to see me, and right now I will tell you that I will not buy you ramen."  
  
"Oh! Oh, that isn't why I came. I came to ask you how best to go about becoming strong. I, I figured you would know best being the strongest shinobi around."  
  
"Oh, that's not quite what I expected. Hmm, how to start. How about first, do you know how to read?"  
  
"Yes sir I started learning last year."  
  
"Good that makes things easier." The third started to think where to start the boy "I have an idea how about I teach the basics of being a shinobi and you can teach yourself from there. How does that sound."  
  
"Alright!!!" Naruto shouted leaping up, "Umm, when do we start, sir?"  
  
"Tomorrow at 5 AM." Upon seeing the look in Naruto's eyes he quickly added "It's the only time of the day I know I am free everyday." Naruto still didn't look happy "Plus all the best ninjas get up early." This made Naruto's face light up.  
  
"Ok, old man, I'll be there."  
  
"Good, well then if that's all you want. I'll see you tomorrow." The third spoke a farewell and Naruto left. "He's already heading down the road his father had wanted. This should prove interesting..." the third thought aloud.  
  
*** Next day 5 Am ***  
  
"Good morning, Naruto-kun" The third spoke cheerfully.  
  
"Mf" Naruto grumbled back.  
  
"I see this morning routine might take a while to get used to."  
  
"Mf" Naruto mumbled back again.  
  
"Very well. Now let's begin with some hand-to-hand lessons. After 3 months of that, I will start you on shuriken and kunai practice. Depending on how you do from there I will teach you how to manipulate your chakra and use it to do jutsus. Now let's begin.  
  
Three hours later saw an exhausted Naruto and an amused Hokage. Naruto had been practicing all the basics of hand-to-hand for the whole morning on a tree stump and was hurting all over.  
  
"Now that's enough for today, Naruto." The Hokage said "You should probably go home, take a bath, and sleep for awhile."  
  
"Aw, man how am I ever going to get strong if I can't even do this for more than 3 hours." Naruto complained.  
  
"Don't worry. The more you do this the less draining this will become. Now go home." So Naruto did just that, although he stumbled all the way.  
  
Once inside his house he slowly, painfully stripped down and slipped into his bathtub.  
  
"I've started down the road to strength and recognition. Nothing can stop me now."  
  
*** 3 hours later ***  
  
Naruto had finished his bath and had just woken up from a 2-hour nap. He decided to go to the library and read up on hand-to-hand combat so that he could impress the old man tomorrow.  
  
At the library Naruto went straight to the section he needed and began to read. He didn't stop until the sun began set. He quickly ran home and got into bed early for an early awaking the next day.  
  
This routine he continued for the next 3 months...  
  
*** 3 months later ***  
  
"Very good, Naruto-kun. You have come far these past 3 months, further than I expected." The third praised Naruto after he had executed a complicated kata, flawlessly. "Today you begin to learn the art of throwing shurikens and kunais."  
  
"But, Old Man, I didn't bring any of those with me. How am I going to practice?"  
  
"Don't worry, little one. I brought some for you." The third spoke while revealing a pouch of shuriken and another of kunai. He then launched into an explanation of how and when to use the weapons.  
  
Naruto practiced past their usual ending time, 8 o'clock, when the Hokage left. He practiced all the way 'til dark when he fell asleep outside.  
  
He awoke with a start when he saw a young girl looking down on him. He quickly leaped up and jumped away from her.  
  
"Oh, yo... you're a.. alive, I wa.. was worried." The girl stuttered.  
  
"Yes, of course. Why wouldn't I be?" Naruto asked confused.  
  
"Be... because you, you were on the ground out here." The girl answered shyly.  
  
"Yes, well I was, I was looking at the stars" Naruto lied, he wanted to keep his training secret.  
  
"Um, are you te-telling the truth. Because I- I never heard of stars that hurt you." She said eyeing his wounds.  
  
"Um, well actually I was training. Say, what are you doing outside at this time."  
  
"Oh, oh we-well it's 9 AM which is the time I always take walks at," she replied. Naruto was shocked, he thought that it was earlier than that.  
  
"Oops, oh well. I guess the old man just didn't see any reason to wake me," Naruto murmured to himself.  
  
"Excuse me, bu-but what's your name?" She asked shyly, Naruto looked up and studied her. She had short blue hair, a slight build, and strange pupiless eyes, he decided that she seemed all right to trust.  
  
"My name is Naruto the Great, the future Hokage." He proclaimed proudly. "What's your name?"  
  
"My-my name is Hyuuga Hinata." She answered quietly.  
  
'Hyuuga, eh? I read about them in one of the books at the library. They are supposed to be the most powerful clan in Konoha. She might actually make a good friend.' Naruto thought.  
  
"You want to be my friend?" Naruto asked the question only a little kid could ask without feeling weird.  
  
"Su-sure, Naruto-kun." Hinata answered, thus starting a friendship that would help both of them to reach new strengths.  
  
The third watched all of this from his crystal ball and was glad that he had left Naruto to sleep.  
  
For the next six months Naruto would train with his weapons until eight. Run home, take a bath, and then meet Hinata for her daily walk at 9.  
  
The two best friends started to train together during her walk. Naruto began to learn better ways to defend while she learned how to better attack.  
  
They used only taijutsu until Naruto reached his 6th birthday and began to learn about chakra. The third trained him by teaching him to climb trees without his hands. After that both Hinata and Naruto would spend time climbing trees together and looking up jutsus in the library.  
  
This continued until the third told Naruto when he turned eight that he had learned all the basics soundly and was ready to teach himself the rest for the time being. And so Naruto did just that.  
  
He had entered the academy at age 7 and cut class to go train on his own or go to the library so often that he had ended up at the bottom of his class. Most people considered a stupid punk. Yet despite what others thought he proved in the final exam that he was indeed worthy of being a shinobi, but was still the lowest in the class, the dobe.  
  
"Well, Hinata, tomorrow we get our new teams and begin to train with others." Naruto began while he and Hinata sat on top of his apartment complex "But, I promise you that I will come by as often as I can."  
  
"And I promise that I will see you as much as I can too, Naruto-kun," Hinata spoke without a single stutter, Naruto was the only person that she felt calm around and therefore was the only person she didn't stutter around.  
  
"Well then it's a promise. See you tomorrow, bye." Naruto said in farewell, leaping down to the ground, making a dull thud due to the large number of weights he wore, and then entered the complex.  
  
"Bye, Naruto-kun," Hinata spoke softly.  
  
AN: Well this is the prologue. I hope you enjoyed it or are at the very least interested. Let me know if I had any blatant errors. Flamers, when relevant, are accepted. This is hopefully going to be a NaruHina fic. Until next time. 


	2. The Teams and the Test

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the things affiliated with it.  
  
Naruto the Great:  
  
Summary: What if Naruto woke up one day when he was younger and saw that the only way to stop people from hating him was to get strong and strove early on to reach that goal of strength? How would this affect the others? Read to find out.  
  
The Teams and the Test:  
  
*** The next day ***  
  
Naruto walked in bearing his hitai-ate around his right wrist. He walked quietly up to an empty seat next to Hinata and sat and waited.  
  
Iruka, who Naruto had come to like, walked in and looked up at all of the newly appointed genins. He then launched into a dull speech about responsibility, which Naruto ignored.  
  
"Now I will announce your 3 man-cells. These teams have been made based on your test scores and participation; each team will be approximately equal.  
  
"First team will be..." Naruto tuned the man out until he reached team 7. "Team 7 will be Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura," this caused Naruto to heave a sigh, he hated all of the crazy Sasuke fan girls. The only thing that could make it worse would be if Sasuke were put on his team. "And Uchiha Sasuke." This name too made Naruto heave a sigh, although this was bigger one. Sakura on the other hand leaped up and did a little victory jig, with most of the other girls glaring at her.  
  
"Now team 8 will be Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino (this caused Hinata to release a squeak of terror), and Inuzaka Kiba." Naruto gave a worried glance over at Hinata, her team wasn't exactly what he had hoped it would be.  
  
The rest of the time Naruto just tuned out Iruka then headed off to the classroom where he was to meet his jounin leader.  
  
Naruto waited patiently for over an hour then decided that once this guy showed up that he was going to get what he deserved, a prank. So Naruto leaped up and put an eraser in the doorway, so that it would fall as soon as the door was fully opened.  
  
*** An hour later***  
  
Hatake Kakashi finally arrived outside of the door of his new cell. He opened it and casually walked in, until he felt a chalked up eraser land on his head. He then finished walking into the classroom and thought for a moment before announcing, casually, that he hated his students so far.  
  
Then the whole group headed to a different area to discuss themselves to each other, in the hopes of getting to know each other better.  
  
Kakashi rambled on awhile, although all the genin learned was his name. Next up was Naruto.  
  
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like to train, eat ramen, and be with my best friend. I hate perverts, rabid fan girls, stupid villagers, and arrogant bastards." He finished and then shifted his katana around on his belt.  
  
Kakashi upon hearing the boy's comment took a moment to study the young man. His eyes were a beautiful cerulean blue and his unruly blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail, but a few bangs escaped over his face. The boy wore a dark, blue cloak that sagged; leading Kakashi to believe it was weighted. His pants and long-sleeved shirt seemed to be made of the same material as his cloak. But all of that really wasn't what had caught his attention. The two things that had caught his attention were the lack of whisker marks, which the boy had been marked with showing what was inside of him, and the fact that the boy's hitai-ate was around the boy's right wrist.  
  
Sakura went next. She mainly just spoke of how she hated Naruto (who seemed to be tuning them out) and loved Sasuke.  
  
Then finally Sasuke went. He claimed he liked nothing and hated many things. He ended by claiming there was someone that he had to kill.  
  
After Sasuke finished Kakashi announced that one final test would be given to the genin tomorrow at 9 AM and that they shouldn't eat unless they wanted to throw up. Naruto ignored that and then left without a single goodbye.  
  
*** Next day ***  
  
Naruto woke up at his usual 4:30 AM and got dressed quickly and sat down at his kitchen table. He poured himself some cereal (Hinata had seen what he ate and had forced him promise to eat Ramen only 4 times a week) and poured over his latest book. It was called Anbu of the Past Decade. Naruto was reading through it, memorizing important names here and there. He continued until he came across his teacher's name.  
  
Name: Hatake Kakashi  
  
A.K.A. Copy-cat Ninja Notes:  
Kakashi was a child genius who became a chuunin at age 6 and was trained by the Yondaime. Well renowned for his ability to have copied over 1000 jutsus with his single Sharigan Eye. He is also well known for never being punctual.  
  
"Hmm, so this is my new teacher." Naruto said in slight awe. "Well, according to this book and yesterday's wait, I won't need to head to the training spot until around 10 o'clock. I guess I can head to the library then." Naruto then stuffed his bowl into his sink and left for the library.  
  
He arrived there and quietly walked in. He was grateful for it never being closed, in case it was desperately needed. Naruto quickly went to his favorite section, the jutsu section, and settled into a chair he had proclaimed as his own with about 4 large books.  
  
Naruto stayed there until he had finished with his first read through of all the books then looked up at the clock. 'Hmm, 9:50 I guess I should head over there.' Naruto decided. He slipped his books back into their respective spots and walked casually towards his meeting spot. Upon reaching the field he realized that he had been correct in thinking that his teacher wouldn't be there.  
  
"NARUTO!!! How could you be so late to our test, we could have failed because of you," Sakura shouted at him.  
  
"Would you shut up. Sensei ain't here yet, so what does it matter." Naruto retorted, only making Sakura angrier, but she remained calm enough to not attack Naruto.  
  
Yo, was all that Kakashi said as he showed up about 10 minutes later.  
  
"Sensei you're late," Sakura leaped up and shouted at him, making Naruto smile.  
  
"I see that you haven't changed at all in the past decade," Naruto said.  
  
"Oh, and how would you know how I was a decade ago, Naruto?" Kakashi asked.  
  
"I read a book on Anbu of the past decade and it clearly stated that punctuality isn't really your thing."  
  
"Oh, I guess then your right." Kakashi said, he was surprised the supposed delinquent Naruto had read up about him, "Now on with the test. You guys have to get one of these." Kakashi said while raising up 2 bells. "Whoever doesn't get a bell gets tied to one of those stumps over there while I eat their lunch in front of them. Oh and also they get sent back to the academy. Any questions?"  
  
"May we use weapons?" Naruto asked.  
  
"Yes, aim to kill. It is the only way to win. Now begin." And with those words Sasuke and Sakura leaped into the trees and hid. Naruto on the other hand created a Perfect Bunshin, a jutsu of his own creation that was a solid clone that would only disappear when out of chakra or was struck with a killing blow, and then prepared himself to challenge his sensei..  
  
"I'm ready, bring it." The clone and Naruto both spoke to Kakashi.  
  
"Baka, you're thinking of doing this the wrong way." Kakashi thought while trying not to sigh at his student's stupid tactics.  
  
"There is no right or wrong way. There is only a try and try not." Naruto spoke mirroring an old saying he had read. Then Naruto's clone charged straight at Kakashi with his cloak obscuring any hints as to what he was attempting.  
  
Both Naruto and his clone drew their katanas and aimed for Kakashi. Upon reaching his sensei both of the swords went right into Kakashi, who quickly became a log.  
  
"Kuso, I never saw him make the seals." Naruto mumbled to himself.  
  
"Charging like that won't get you anywhere," Kakashi's voice came, from behind one of the Naruto's. Kakashi quickly punched the clone in the head, expecting it to disappear; only to get a bit of sharpened metal centimeters from his cheek.  
  
'Hmm, I thought that was the clone," Kakashi quickly thought. He couldn't think too hard about anything else as both Naruto and his clone started slicing away at Kakashi who was using 2 kunai and a quick eye to defend himself from near-fatal blows.  
  
The two forced Kakashi back almost against a tree and then both Naruto and his clone disappeared. As though they were never there.  
  
'Genjutsu?' Was the only thought that ran through Kakashi's head when he sensed a strike coming at him. 'Only one strike' Kakashi quickly noted.  
  
In truth only the clone was down attacking Kakashi, under a high- level invisibility genjutsu. The real Naruto was up in the trees discarding his cloak and weighted over clothes, revealing a pair of dark blue shorts, and a dark blue muscle-shirt. He started jumping towards where he had seen Sasuke enter the trees.  
  
Sasuke jumped at the sounds of someone approaching and nearly threw a kunai at Naruto's head as he leaped up next to him.  
  
"Sasuke, how about you and I help each other." Naruto began and then quickly added upon seeing Sasuke's glare "Hey, I don't like you either, but if there was another way I wouldn't be doing this. Just think two bells and two of us. That would leave super fan girl Sakura back at the academy. How about it?"  
  
Sasuke was obviously thinking this proposition over and then finally looked back at Naruto and nodded.  
  
"Good, now here's the plan..." Naruto whispered to Sasuke giving them the best plan he had for an attack.  
  
Meanwhile down below, Kakashi had lifted up his hitai-ate to reveal his Sharigan so that he could see past the high-level illusion that Naruto had created. He then saw what he need and leapt at the invisible clone. The Naruto-clone attempted many fast slashes, but his sword was knocked from his hands and then Kakashi popped him in the stomach with a hard right. Kakashi was about to go and put the clone out for good when he saw 2 figures coming at him from the left.  
  
The two charging were Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke drew a few shuriken and threw them right at Kakashi who simply sidestepped them. Kakashi had stepped directly into the trap Naruto had laid before leaping into the trees with Sasuke. The trap was a large number of kunai flying at him.  
  
As Kakashi went to leap away from the onslaught he felt 2 hands grip him from below. 'Chikushou' Kakashi thought as Sasuke too came towards him. Kakashi quickly decided upon using Umi Arashi* and launched it. Only to have have both Sasuke and Naruto disappear. 'Damn a Bunshin, but how did my Sharigan not see through it.'  
  
A lone kunai was sent straight at the bells at Kakashi's belt as the Bunshin Naruto distracted him had made. The kunai cut the bells right off his belt and fell right into the invisible hands of the Naruto-clone.  
  
"Ha, ha we passed sensei," Naruto shouted from behind Kakashi, proudly holding up one bell while throwing the other to Sasuke, who caught it and smirked.  
  
"Indeed." Kakashi called back "Now can you have Sakura let go of my feet."  
  
"Sorry, but Sakura isn't holding your feet, one of my clones is." Naruto said before he canceled out his clone under the ground as well as the one that had captured the bells.  
  
"Oh, I thought the three of you had put this together," Kakashi said slightly put back "So where is Sakura?"  
  
Naruto then suddenly started guffawing loudly.  
  
"What, what did you do?" Kakashi snapped at Naruto.  
  
"She, she's," But Naruto couldn't finish he was laughing so hard, instead he just pointed behind Kakashi. The copy-cat ninja turned around and walked into the forest to find Sakura making out with the air.  
  
"Naruto," Kakashi called him over and pointed at Sakura "Explain."  
  
"Oh, haha, I thought she could use to experience her foolish dream and I felt it would keep her out of the way." Naruto answered trying not to pass out from laughing too hard.  
  
Kakashi was slightly amused while watching Sakura kiss, whisper, and moan to the air. Even Sasuke cracked a smirk while watching.  
  
"So did I do a good job?" Naruto asked, but Kakashi just pointed at Sakura again.  
  
"Release her from this fantasy." He said firmly.  
  
"Alright, alright sheesh." Naruto said while walking towards Sakura. He formed his hands into a seal "Kai," and then tapped Sakura.  
  
"Huh, what, where'd Sasuke-kun go?" Sakura said surprised, then she looked up to seeing a grinning Naruto, an amused Kakashi, and a smirking Sasuke. "What, what happened?"  
  
"Well for starters you just got pranked," Kakashi began "Next you failed the test and finally you just gave all of us a good laugh."  
  
"I-I failed." Was all Sakura said before she started crying.  
  
"Oh, god," Naruto mumbled and started to walk away, his smile gone.  
  
"Well actually thanks to both Sasuke and surprisingly Naruto, this whole team is now officially genin." Kakashi said with a closed eye and smile, if you could see through his mask. Upon hearing this Sakura stopped crying and Inner Sakura was shouting things about how love had pulled her through, "Now who can tell me the point of the exercise."  
  
"Teamwork," Naruto answered from behind Kakashi.  
  
"Correct, Naruto," Kakashi said. "Now will you explain to me a few things the two of you?" Kakashi pointed at Sasuke and Naruto "First of all who came up with that plan?"  
  
"Heh, that would be me," Naruto said, "I should know how to do that. After all I did read most of the books in the library about strategy and I play the best strategist in Konoha once a week in Go."  
  
"Oh, and who would that be?" Kakashi asked.  
  
"The one, the only, Nara Shikamaru. The smartest and laziest bum in all of Konoha," Naruto declared loudly, thinking of one of his 3 friends* and the way they had met. *  
  
"Okay next question. How did you, Naruto, know such advanced Genjutsu?"  
"Well that would be because of a lack of friends to talk with and also because I read through that book I mentioned earlier and found that the youngest Anbu member was a Genjutsu master." Naruto babbled.  
  
"Hmm, so you intend to become just like this Anbu?" Kakashi asked, waiting for an answer so as to judge the boy better.  
  
"Hell no!!! For one thing I'm not a jounin unlike he was at around my age. Next I'm not a member of a clan. And finally I don't have a bloodline limit, at least not that I'm aware of." Naruto yelled the first part and explained avidly the last part.  
  
"Ok, I guess that makes sense, sort of. Now for my final question. How did you conceal your Genjutsu from my Sharigan?" Kakashi inquired, this time paying attention fully, for no one had ever done this before.  
  
"Oh, that... Well let's just say Genjutsu can be used to cast an illusion over itself." Naruto said evasively.  
  
"Ok, I guess. Well, anyway I guess I should let you three know something, about your missions."  
  
"That would be helpful, sensei," Naruto answered in a mocking tone and grinning stupidly.  
  
"We are to meet tomorrow at the Hokage's office at 9 AM, sharp." Kakashi ordered and then opened up his Itcha Itcha Paradise.  
  
"Yea, okay. I'll see you all tomorrow around 10:30. Now off to have a second lunch." Naruto spoke before running off, presumably to Ichiraku.  
  
Sasuke then just mumbled something and left. Sakura took this as her cue to chase after Sasuke and ran straight past her new sensei.  
  
"Now to report to the Hokage's office," Kakashi said and was about to run to the Hokage's, but thought better of it "Aw, well I'll get to his office in a little while." With that said Kakashi, the last of the newly formed team 7, left the training ground.  
  
*Umi Arashi is something like 'Water Storm', I hope. It gathers water from the surrounding air and sends it towards its target like a tiny hurricane.  
  
*Naruto has 3 friends Hinata, Shikamaru, and the third you will have to wait till later. Don't worry, you know this character.  
  
*This will be an interesting story that I will have to add somewhere...  
  
AN: Well that's the next installment. I know my Naruto is a bit um... odd, but don't worry he's just had a few more friends and knows a bit um... a lot more. Also I hope this chapter proves that this Naruto isn't super powerful and can't beat anyone he wants on his own, he just needs some teammates. This also will be a story with Naruto admiring Itachi's skill a bit, causing him to actually use Genjutsu in this story. I will hopefully update in 3 days, but don't hold your breath. 


	3. Prequel to First Missions

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the things affiliated with it.  
  
AN: Sorry for the very long wait, but I'm lazy and my life isn't dull enough for me to just around and write. Can someone send me a list of jutsus, preferably lots of genjutsu? Enjoy this chapter. Naruto the Great:  
  
Summary: What if Naruto woke up one day when he was younger and saw that the only way to stop people from hating him was to get strong and strove early on to reach that goal of strength? How would this affect the others? Read to find out.  
  
Prequel to First Missions:  
  
"Kakashi, don't you think it would be wise to at least show up reasonably close to on time for your Hokage," The third spoke exasperatedly "We were supposed to meet 3 hours ago. Where have you been?"  
"Hmm, oh sorry, were you saying something?" Kakashi replied distractedly. He was about to go back to his book when he caught the look the Hokage was giving.  
  
'If only looks could kill, or at the very least torture,' Was the thought going through the Hokage's head.  
"Mn, oh yea about my team. Well where to start..." Kakashi started to stare off into space "I guess I'll start with the obvious. Sasuke appears to be decent, but is, as expected, at a lower level than his brother was. Next is Sakura, well to put it one way, I don't have a clue. She never really was given a chance to show her skill for..."  
  
"Naruto decided to prank her didn't he?" The Hokage cut Kakashi off, then chuckled at the memory of Naruto's first real prank on him.  
  
Flashback   
The Hokage was just walking along without a worry when he began to approach the Hokage Monument. He glanced up to look at his own face, only to find in its place a carving of a goat's head. The third instantly began to panic and was about to start charging through the village for an explanation, when he heard laughter to his right.  
  
There on the rail was the kitsune, with a fist shoved in his mouth trying to cut down on his laughter.  
  
"What? What are you laughing at Naruto?" The Hokage was instantly suspicious. All Naruto could manage was another smothered laugh and a point at the third. "What is it Naruto, spit it out?"  
  
"You should have seen your face when you looked up, Onji." Naruto managed to gasp out, once he had regained some control over himself.  
  
"That was you?" Hokage said pointing at the monument.  
  
"Yep." Naruto said without fear. He then brought his hands up in a seal, mumbled something, and leaped off the railing and walked away in the hopes of not getting in trouble.  
  
"Why you, little brat." Hokage was raising his fist higher and higher when he noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that his bust was back to normal. 'Genjutsu, eh? That was pretty good.' He admired the boy's skill, by then forgetting to hunt down Naruto, who got away without a single bruise.  
  
Flashback end   
"Yes, sir," Kakashi replied lazily "He seemed to put a genjutsu of sorts on her. Once under it she, um, seemed to be enjoying herself." Kakashi put it bluntly, remembering the image of Sakura's blush, passionate embrace of nothing, and her moans.  
  
"Ah, well we knew the boy would attempt something like that." Hokage said with a smile. "And what do you think of Naruto?"  
  
"He is... remarkable. Not only did he use a genjutsu I didn't know, he found a way to hide it and other jutsus from my Sharigan." The third seemed only a little surprised by that, having taught the boy himself, "He also came up with a flawless, fully thought out plan and brought Sasuke into it. They made a good team."  
  
"I see. From now on, I want you to monitor them closely. They may get higher missions sooner than they think, depending on their success rate." Hokage said, "Now leave."  
  
Meanwhile "Mf, good," Naruto pronounced while eating his favorite food, ramen, at his favorite place to get it, Ichiraku. Naruto had been there a good hour and a half. He just kept eating and eating. He was almost full when someone stepped into the restaurant.  
  
"Naruto-kun." Was all the new arrival had to say before he put down his ramen, and turned to look at his best friend.  
  
"Oh, hey Hinata chan. What brings you here?" Naruto asked, only slightly surprised to see her.  
  
"I wanted to speak with you. I'll meet you at the usual place." Hinata spoke softly, but that didn't stop the man from behind the counter to stop in surprise. It was his first time hearing her speak a full sentence without stuttering.  
  
"Hai." Naruto answered before diving into another bowl of ramen and devouring its contents in under a minute. "Well, I shouldn't keep her waiting. I guess I can last until dinner." With that said, Naruto jumped off his stool and ran out of Ichiraku.  
  
He jumped on top of the roof of a nearby building and hopped from one to the next until arriving at the spot where the two had first met. He leaped off the building and ran to the training ground.  
  
He arrived to find Hinata lying in the grass looking up at the sky. She had taken a liking to cloud watching ever since being introduced to Shikamaru. Naruto just walked up silently and lay down in the grass next to her, looking up.  
  
"Naruto-kun, did you have to pass a test?" Hinata began.  
  
"Hai, we had to get a bell from our sensei to pass, but there were only 2 bells and 3 of us," Naruto answered and then continued "It was supposed to teach us the value of teamwork or something like that. So I chose to seek out Sasuke and we, while using a Shikamaru like plan, each got a bell."  
  
"Oh, what about your third teammate, Sakura-san I believe." Hinata inquired.  
  
Naruto just started laughing and took a full 5 minutes to calm down enough to start telling Hinata.  
  
"Well, I'll start with the obvious, she didn't pass on her own. Of course I guess it would be pretty hard for her to pass after I found her and she bugged me about where Sasuke was..."  
  
"You pranked her didn't you?" Hinata asked slyly. Naruto was the only person she felt she could ask anything.  
  
"Yea, I guess you could say that. But, I consider it to be more of a 'Super Prank'." Naruto said this with pride. "I found her in the trees, just wandering around for Sasuke and muttering things about love and handsome, etc. So I snuck up behind her, all the while forming the seals for my favorite prank genjutsu.  
  
"The 'Fantasy to Reality' genjutsu." Hinata guessed. She after all had helped him design the technique. She, with her byakugan activated, could see through the technique. This had annoyed Naruto, for he hated to have Genjutsu that could be beaten easily. Naruto had worked for 2 months on hiding it, at least halfway, from her byakugan. She was ensnared by it on April Fools day last year, Naruto's favorite day of the year.  
  
He had crept up next to her, while doing the hand seals, and then launched the prank attack on her. For the next half-hour she was locked in her fantasy and didn't come out until Naruto finally got tired of watching and laughing. Naruto still didn't know quite what her fantasy had been, he had never asked, and she was glad of that.  
  
"Hai, and her fantasy was very vivid." Naruto said before snickering "We found her rolling around on the ground kissing the air, hugging the air, and moaning. It was a sight to be seen."  
  
The mental image of this event flashed through Hinata's head causing her to start giggling softly. Naruto loved the sound of her laughing.  
  
"How about you did you have a test?" Naruto asked switching subjects.  
  
"We had to track Kurenai-sensei. Shino-san sent bugs throughout the forest to find her, Kiba-san and Akamaru used their noses, and I activated my Byakugan. We found her in under 30 minutes, the fastest time yet." Hinata said with as much pride as she could muster.  
  
"Wow, your team has all the right abilities to become hunter-nin with all of your tracking skills." Naruto praised.  
  
"I suppose, but I want to be a normal ninja not a hunter-nin." Hinata said. For the next 2 hours they just lay there next to each other, talking occasionally. Finally Naruto decided he should head back, he was getting hungry again.  
  
"Neh, Hinata I think I'm going to head back and go on the hunt for a good restaurant." Naruto spoke as he leaped up to his feet.  
  
"Okay, Naruto-kun, I might need to head back soon." Hinata said and slowly got to her feet. She was sad to see Naruto go she had found herself wanting to spend more time with him than she used to.  
  
Naruto was about to leave when he came up with an idea.  
  
"Hey, Hinata, want to join me for dinner?" Naruto invited.  
  
"Sure, as long as it's not ramen." Hinata teased.  
  
"Alright, alright. How about that rice restaurant. I heard that they have good chicken. How about it." Naruto asked.  
  
"Okay, lead the way." Hinata instructed, so Naruto turned and began to mock march towards the restaurant. After a while he slowed down enough so that he and Hinata walked side by side. Once inside the mainstream of the village, Hinata began to shrink.  
  
"Ano, Hinata what's wrong?" Naruto asked softly to Hinata, who was clearly trying to become as small as possible.  
  
"The stares, they bother me." Hinata answered weakly. Naruto didn't mention anything else as both he and Hinata took a seat at the restaurant. They both ordered Chicken with fried rice.  
  
"Hinata, do you have a mission tomorrow?" Naruto asked while they waited.  
  
"Yes, Kurenai-sensei said we would have one. Do you?"  
  
"Yea, Kakashi-sensei didn't say what we would be doing though." Naruto answered before their food arrived. The food had mounds of chicken covered in a luscious sauce, with lots of fried rice, and steamed vegetables to top it off. Naruto instantly began to devour all of the food in front of him while Hinata, with proper etiquette, began to eat calmly.  
  
Nothing more was said during dinner, as for Naruto was too busy eating to talk and Hinata was too busy watching Naruto to say anything. As soon as the dinner was over they began to talk.  
  
"Hinata, after your mission is done how about we go and train together. Sound good." Naruto suggested.  
  
"Sounds good, see you tomorrow then. Bye Naruto-kun." With her farewell said she got up and left for her mansion.  
  
'Hmm, that was pretty fun. I've noticed that the more time I spend with Hinata-chan, the better the rest of the week seems.' Naruto thought. 'Oh well, now off to train.  
  
Next Day   
  
Naruto woke up easily at 4:30 and quickly got dressed. He ran into the kitchen and made himself some bacon and eggs, Hinata had told him it was a good breakfast before a big day.  
  
While he ate he perused the book in front of him. It was a book on the top 100 Go strategies. Naruto was trying to learn all of them before his next match with Shikamaru, that way he would at least not be beaten to embarrassment.  
  
He then shoved his dishes into the sink and ran off towards the library. Once he got inside he searched quickly for any books on the feared Sharigan. He found only 3 books that looked like they actually held anything useful. He then went to his favorite chair and began reading.  
  
"...the Sharigan is possibly the most feared Bloodline Limit known to our world. With the ability to see through all illusions and copy any non- bloodline technique, it can make its user quite formidable. The Sharigan belongs only to a select few of the Uchiha clan..."  
  
"Hmm, does that mean Kakashi-sensei is a distant member of the clan or did he get an operation to have it put in." Naruto pondered aloud he then read on.  
  
"...it appears to have only 2 true weaknesses. The first being the most common way to beat the Sharigan, taijutsu. A Sharigan-user's greatest fear is a master of taijutsu. The second weakness is a layer of genjutsu put one on top of the other. These layers can sometimes interact either confusing the user or just distracting them."  
  
"Hmm, so now I know 2 ways to beat Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke, if he ever learns how to use his bloodline limit." Naruto counted off the ways. "Taijutsu and layers of genjutsu. I guess I should go off and work on one of them some more." He then vaulted off his chair and ran to he and Hinata's spot.  
  
When 10: 20 rolled around Naruto could be found breathing in gasps and trying to keep his eyes opened. Yet despite all of this his face bore the smile of accomplishment, he had finished his ultimate technique. He had begun working on the technique ever since he had learned of advanced genjutsu, which was almost 3 years ago.  
  
He dragged himself home and flopped onto the floor of his shabby apartment, creating dents for each of the objects around his wrists and ankles. He then managed to literally crawl to his dresser and open one of his drawers. Inside the drawer was the only thing that was to get him through the day, a soldier pill.  
  
Once swallowed, he leaped to his feet and jogged out the door to the Hokage's office. He strutted in and looked around for his team. As expected there were only 2 members. The emotionless Sasuke and fan-girl Sakura stood together, not talking.  
  
"Ohayo, Sakura-san and Uchiha-san." Naruto called out before he stood near them. They sat there waiting, waiting, and waiting, until...  
  
"Kakashi-sensei your late!!!" Sakura screamed.  
  
"Gomen, I got lost on the road of life."  
  
"Whatever," Was all Sasuke said. He then looked for his blonde teammate, only to find him sleeping against the wall, a liquid coming from the edge of his mouth. "Wake up, dobe."  
  
Naruto showed no signs of waking, or any other signs that he was alive other than a loud breathing sound. The kunoichi was getting mad, so she walked right up to Naruto, pulled back her fist, and...  
  
"Aww!!!" Was the cry heard, but it came not from Naruto, instead it came from Sakura. She had punched right at Naruto's head, only to hit the wall right behind him.  
  
'A Bunshin, eh?' Kakashi observed.  
  
"Oi, did I miss anything?" Naruto called from behind the trio. His hair was pulled back into his customary messy ponytail and his clothes were hidden by a cloak. His look appeared innocent, but the marker in his hand looked suspicious.  
  
"Okay team, now that you're all here, let's get our mission." Kakashi cut off a raging Sakura from shouting at Naruto.  
  
"Alright!" Naruto shouted while pumping his fist in the air. He walked with Team 7 to the booth to get what should've been a simple, boring mission. But Naruto fixed that...  
  
"Let's see... Okay you guys have an escort mission, it's level D and to the Hidden Cloud Village. Good luck." Iruka announced before moving on to the next team.  
  
"Wait a second," Kakashi mumbled "Escort missions are supposed to be Level C and up. How'd we get one, and why is it D rank?"  
  
"It's in the D rank for Lord Hokage-sama put it there and you have it because I said so." Iruka snapped at Kakashi, causing him to start.  
  
"Alright, alright u don't have to get snappy." Kakashi replied lazily. "Let's go team and find who we're guarding." He then ushered his pupils away and into the meeting room.  
  
Once they were there they met a surly looking old man with a crooked cane and a eyes to match. He walked towards them and hit the blonde over the head.  
  
"I requested high level ninja and you give me kids. I swear, your village is falling down around you." The man said in a grumpy tone and then limped off. "What are you waiting for hurry up."  
  
So it began...  
  
Onji – According to YYH simply means 'Old Man'. If this is wrong please inform me.  
  
Expect the next chapter in a week or so. Until next time... 


End file.
